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Monday, July 24, 2017

So how this post came about is, I was lying in bed mindlessly watching tv and concurrently thinking about what I wanted to do for my next blog post. I didn't want to do anything related to cooking as I was bored of it and I couldn't do anything pertaining to new books, movies, travel or restaurants even if I wanted to since I didn't have any material. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do a post that was different to what is usually expected of me. How variety being the spice of life and all....

So, I just thought of doing a post chronicling my daily life as a full-time working twin mom. I am interested in expanding my blog into the parenting corner of the blogosphere and so far, I have only made a few feeble attempts in that direction. I like to read about how moms (especially of toddlers) go about their day so if anyone out there reading this is a busybody like me, chances are, you might just find this post interesting 😝

I've said this before - I don't like the term "working mom". Exactly a year ago, I was at home juggling housework and caring for twin toddlers with no extra help and if anyone had asked me then why I wasn't "working", I would have felt like punching them in the face! I've used the irksome term in this article only because it is the most universally understood term for moms who are pursuing a career. Okay?

People often ask me how I manage to keep a blog running despite juggling work, two young kids and a household. Social media often has a way of making things look easy, perfect and effortless. In my case, I have help so, no, I most certainly don't do 'it all'. Come to think of it, I don't even want to do it all!

I am not a particularly interesting person who leads a spontaneous exciting life. Far from it actually! My life is pretty much ordinary but it does happen to be the good kind of ordinary 😊 My home isn't clean all the time, I don't cook fancy meals every night of the week, I do allow my kids to watch tv (and have sugar!), I don't always have everything under control etc etc but me and the husband have implemented a routine that works well for our family.

I have tried to keep this post as transparent as possible giving you a peek into one typical weekday from sun up until sundown. There could be minor variations from day to day but for the most part, it is quite similar.

Monday, July 10, 2017

I am a self-confessed chronic lurker on Instagram. It is solely food that I stalk with an unshakable obsession. What else can I say folks - good old-fashioned food porn is what I seek! 😂 For starter cooks, IG is a reservoir of basic and easy cooking videos and recipes and for the more experienced cooks, it is a great platform to get introduced to complex and luxe dishes using fancy ingredients. For me, most of the inspiration to try out new recipes comes from there.

So, one day, I saw these gorgeous Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies on the feed of The Kitchn and it was love at first sight! It appeared like a work of art and the colors and textures just made perfect sense to me. Brownies are always in huge demand in my home, I love cheesecake in any form and after raspberries, blackberries are my favourite kind of berry. So of course I was going to try this recipe!

I was up relatively early on a Saturday morning. I peeked into my kids room and was relieved to note that they were still sound asleep. I headed to the kitchen and got started on making these brownies. The recipe turned out to be undemanding and even at my own leisurely pace, I was done with making the blackberry puree, the brownie layer and the cheesecake layer by the time they started to stir. After that, they of course wanted to see what the fuss was in the kitchen and "help" me finish (what they described as) the "cake" 😄 I did the swirling of the blackberry puree over the cheesecake layer as my girls intently watched over me (with rather unhelpful inputs may I add) so I didn't do a very good job of it 😛 Next time I'll take a better stab at it (literally speaking!).

The brownies met my expectations in terms of taste. I felt like the chocolate brownie layer would be too intensely chocolatey for the kids but oh-no! They polished off one and then immediately demanded for another one. Since that day, they have been eager to finish their dinner so that they can eat a small piece of "byownie" for dessert 😂 It is safe to say that they liked it very much indeed 😊 The husband didn't have any negative critique so I was glad to have tried this recipe out for myself.

If you are a fan of anything chocolate as well as cheesecake then this dessert will have to go on your to-do list right away. Go make folks!

Monday, July 3, 2017

I haven't been able to devote a lot of time towards formulating new recipe posts lately. Not due to the lack of cooking really. It's just that I haven't had the time for all the other stuff that goes with it! I thought that dialling back on the use of social media (which I have been sincerely trying to do) would have left me with a lot more time on my hands but oddly that hasn't happened 😕

I always rely on my ever-dependable husband to bail me out whenever I find myself falling short of recipes. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't do that as his last guest post wasn't too long ago. The idea for this guest post came from my sister. Like most families, we have a string of WhatsApp groups where we share everything under the sun 😝 One of those groups is dedicated solely to culinary pursuits and that is the one I am most interested in (for obvious reasons!). So, my SIL, Amritha, shared this recipe along with positive feedback and it caught most of our attention immediately.

I love anything and everything to do with spinach and well, koftas, what can I say - I can eat those bad boys all on their own in a single sitting! Give me a kofta-based curry and I'd shamelessly ask for an entire basket of Indian flatbread and then maybe some more 😁

My SIL, although several years younger than me has been pretty close to me ever since her foray into our family. Pediatrician - bharatanatyam dancer - classical singer - fashionista - cooking and baking enthusiast - this girl wears many hats with ease! My kids love her to bits as do we all 💗 So when my sister planted this idea in my head, without any hesitation I asked Amritha if she could re-create the same recipe for my blog. Being the sweetheart that she is, she agreed immediately with cheery enthusiasm. She doesn't have a blog of her own (which considering how multi-talented she is, she really should!) so she is sharing this platform with me to bring you this wonderful recipe.

My family back home gave this recipe a huge thumbs up and although I didn't have the good fortune of tasting it myself, I'm pretty sure it was legit. This recipe has ingredients that are commonly available in any Indian kitchen, comes together easily, has the goodness of spinach and looks very appetizing. Soft melt-in-the-mouth koftas served in an aromatic, vibrant and luscious gravy is an irresistible dish that will have your family or guests licking their fingers. Thank you Amritha for doing this for me! I owe you big time 🙏

So, please show my sistah some love and head to the kitchen to make this side dish for yourself. I need to do it too and pronto! You can catch my latest updates on Facebook or Instagram.